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Westchester NY Homes for Sale

U.S. News’ best nursing homes | Armonk Real Estate

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An estimated 3.3 million Americans will live in the nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing homes during 2013. That number translates to 1 in 7 people ages 65 and up, and more than 1 in 5 of those 85 and older. They and their families will want and need a way to find a source of the best possible care. For many, it won’t be easy.

To help them, U.S. News has collected meaningful data and ratings about nearly every nursing facility in the United States, and built from them a searchable database designed to highlight the highest-rated homes likely to meet each user’s needs.

The data behind Best Nursing Homes come from Nursing Home Compare, a website run by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS sets and enforces standards for nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid, as most are. The agency also collects information from states and individual homes and assigns each home (other than a few too new to have built up enough months of data) a rating of one to five stars in each of three categories:

  • State-conducted health inspections
  • Nursing and physical therapy staffing
  • Quality of medical care

On January 2013, 3,036 nursing homes earned an overall rating of five stars from the federal government.

Top Places to Find Nursing Home Care

When it comes to finding a top-quality nursing home, residents of some states face a far easier task than others. While California and nine other states have at least a hundred top-rated nursing homes in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes ratings, several states have only a handful of nursing homes that meet the same standards.

 

 

U.S. News’ best nursing homes – 2013 – Caregiving – MSN Healthy Living.

Saddle Up With These Southwestern Homes | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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There’s nothing like a good Western film to make you want to grab your cowboy boots and move to the desert. Fortunately, unlike fictional ghost towns with tumbleweed rolling by, Southwestern homes are full of life with Spanish and Pueblo influences giving rise to a variety of architectural styles — from traditional adobe constructions to homes with colonial flair. Here’s a look at a few of our favorites currently on the market.

Tucson, AZ

2376 E Placita De La Victoria, Tucson, AZ
For sale: $1.55 million

Tucson, AZ
Adjacent to Pima Canyon, this Tucson home is a contemporary take on classic adobe design. Inside, 4 masonry fireplaces, custom-milled doors and wood-beamed ceilings create a canvas for Southwestern-style rugs and other native design elements.

Santa Fe, NM

558 Camino Del Monte Sol, Santa Fe, NM
For sale: $1.2 million

Santa Fe, NM
Frank Applegate, a famed Santa Fe architect and sculptor who founded the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, built this 4-bedroom house in 1921 when Camino del Monte Sol was just a dirt road. Today, Applegate is considered one of the masters of Pueblo revival or Santa Fe style. A great room was added by architect William Lumpkins around 1978, but several original architectural details remain.

Saint George, UT

2410 Entrada Trl Unit 1, Saint George, UT 
For sale: $759,000

Saint George, UT
Located in the southwestern corner of Utah, bordering Arizona and Nevada, this 4,511-square-foot home blends with the surrounding red-rock mesas and alpine wilderness. Saint George has attracted retirees and second-home owners over the past 20 years with several parks, bike trails and golf courses nearby.

Long Beach, CA

440 Ximeno Ave, Long Beach, CA
For sale: $399,900

Long Beach, CA
Built in 1923, this Long Beach home is full of Spanish influences, with built-ins, archways, classic moldings, period windows and touches of turquoise and orange throughout. Minutes from the Colorado Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, the bungalow is in a prime location for Southern California beach lovers.

El Paso, TX

1709 Old Paint Dr, El Paso, TX
For sale: $355,000

El Paso, TX
Part of a new Spanish revival development in El Paso, this home mixes traditional architectural features with contemporary amenities including custom-designed cabinetry, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances.

 

Saddle Up With These Southwestern Homes | Zillow Blog.

Housing market heats up with young buyers but average real estate agent age 57 | Waccabuc Real Estate

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As the housing market heats up again, the real estate industry is facing a new challenge: finding enough younger agents.

Even though many of the top agents make well into six-figures, a new survey shows real estate executives here and across the country are worried about not attracting new blood.

 

“Clearly there’s a resurgence in the housing market among the Gen X and Gen Y participants, and that’s the next market,” says Kevin Hawkins, the vice president of Imprev Inc., a Bellevue real estate marketing firm that did the survey. “The concern of brokers is not just for today, but what business is going to look like tomorrow.”

 

While buyers are getting younger, agents are not. Only six-percent are under the age of 34.

 

“The average age of a realtor is 57 years old. The average age of an American worker is 41 years old. If you look at the typical age of a first time home buyer, it’s 31. So, there’s clearly an age gap,” he says.

 

During the housing meltdown between 2007 and 2010, there was a tremendous weeding out process in the industry. Hawkins says it was survival of the fittest, and many of the less-experienced agents got out of the business.

 

But the housing market is booming again, yet 42 percent of the real estate executives surveyed said the need for more agents is their number one concern. They’re worried that younger, qualified candidates are going into other industries, and they’re taking their talents with them.

 

“Younger agents are much more adept with technology and the internet and all the other tools that people want to use when they first start looking for a home. The surveys show that older agents are more reluctant to adopting the new technologies,” Hawkins says.

 

Pamela Jensen is a longtime managing broker for Windermere. She has trained many new agents over the last two decades and says being “young” in the industry can work against you.

 

“What I have found is that if they’re too young, nobody uses them,” she says. “Many homeowners want someone who has owned a home, or who’s bought and sold one. If you’re 23, you haven’t done that.”

 

She says even the Gen X-ers who work in the tech industry want someone who’s experienced because buying a home is one of the biggest investments they’ll ever make.

 

But Hawkins says with the average age of a real estate agent being 57, the top execs realize they need to revamp their recruiting strategies so that they can attract younger realtors.

 

“If they don’t do it now and this group of realtors ages to a point they start retiring, which we’re getting close to that tipping point, then you’ll see a real loss of opportunity of taking that experience and knowledge and imparting it on a whole new workforce,” he says.

 

Housing market heats up with young buyers but average real estate agent age 57 – Local – MyNorthwest.com.

Rising mortgage rates hit home affordability | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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The much talked-about recovery of the housing market, which has buoyed home sales up from recession lows, has come about through intervention from the Federal Reserve, record low interest rates, and higher home prices that have helped borrowers across the nation improve their financial standing.

Both low interest rates and higher home prices have played a role in the housing recovery changes, but as mortgage rates begin to tick upward, housing affordability will decrease, which in turn could cause a pause in the recovery’s progression.

Evidence of an upcoming bump in the road is not yet evident in the numbers. The most recent figures all pointed to a surging recovery: The Department of Commerce reported that sales of new homes rose in May to the highest annual rate since July 2008, while Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index of property values showed home prices posted the highest annual gain in more than seven years in April.

But mortgage rates are now rising higher and faster than previously, though there is little precedent for such movement. Between the beginning of May and the end of June, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged from 3.59 percent to 4.68 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Interest rates are now at their highest level since 2011.

Mortgage rates began a swift climb in early May from record low levels, making May the last month that mortgage rates will boost housing affordability above month-over-month and year-over-year levels, reported the National Association of Realtors. But for month of May, the pressure on affordability came from record-high home prices. In all regions across the United States, affordability was down from the previous month. The South experienced the largest month-over-month drop, and the biggest year-over-year drop came in the West.

According to the association’s report, while affordability will certainly weaken in upcoming months, because the metric is coming down from such a high level, affordability should remain historically favorable despite rising mortgage rates and home prices.

A new survey conducted by Fannie Mae showed consumers believe that mortgage rates will continue to increase over the next year. The number of respondents who thought so jumped 11 percentage points from May to hit 57 percent in June, the highest level in the survey’s three-year history. People expecting home prices to increase over the same period also hit a survey high of 57 percent. Only 7 percent believe prices will decline.

“Consumers may recognize that today’s still favorable mortgage rates and home ownership affordability levels will recede over time,” Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said in a press release. “Given rising home and rental price expectations and improving personal financial attitudes, more prospective homebuyers may be deciding that now is the time to get off the fence.”

 

 

Rising mortgage rates hit home affordability.

Solar energy gets boost with New York state funding | Bedford Real Estate

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New York’s solar energy capacity is getting an upgrade with $54 million announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for 79 solar projects across the state to help reduce stress on the electric grid.

The competitive funding is part of the governor’s NY-Sun initiative working to make the state a leader in solar energy by addressing climate change and boosting clean energy technologies.

“The investments we are making in solar power will help businesses around the state control and reduce their utility expenses, while increasing the amount of electricity the state gets from renewable energy and reducing demand on the electric grid,” saidFrancis Murray, CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

The Capital Region is expected to have 10 sites that will house solar energy projects including Raymour & Flanigan stores in Clifton Park and Niskayuna. The other eight sites are to be determined.

The awards were administered by NYSERDA to 20 recipients to finance the solar energy projects that will be located in 26 counties. The sites themselves would use the solar power to drop electricity usage.

The projects are expected to add up to 64 megawatts to the state’s solar capacity. One megawatt is equal to one million watts of power. Most of the projects should be finished by the first half of next year, Cuomo said.

“Not only will these projects benefit our environment by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and using renewable energy, but they are also creating well-paying jobs for New Yorkers,” Cuomo said in a statement.

 

Solar energy gets boost with New York state funding – The Business Review.

Residential real estate market heating up | Katonah Real Estate

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Are you thinking about jumping into the real-estate market, but don’t exactly know what the temperature of the market is right now?

While commercial properties are lagging in value and the ability to rent them, this home, located at 110 Mountain Ave. in Pompton Plains section of Pequannock, listed for $519,000 but sold for $525,000.
While commercial properties are lagging in value and the ability to rent them, this home, located at 110 Mountain Ave. in Pompton Plains section of Pequannock, listed for $519,000 but sold for $525,000.

Those at the Pompton Plains Weichert Realtors office have been gauging the temperature of both the commercial and the residential real-estate market.

“The commercial real-estate market in our service area of Morris and Passaic counties is not recovering at the rate of the residential real-estate market,” explained Aileen Williamson, SRES and Relocation Certified broker/manager of the Pompton Plains Weichert Realtors office.

“Commercial space for sale and for rent is moving at a slow pace. Days on market is an average of 242 days. Price per square foot must be very competitive and ‘location’ is key in order to secure an ‘intent to purchase’ or an ‘intent to lease’ in a short amount of time,” said Williamson.

She continued, “Our office area of expertise includes Pequannock (Pompton Plains), Lincoln Park, Riverdale, Pompton Lakes, Wayne, Wanaque (Haskell), Ringwood, Bloomingdale, lower West Milford, Butler, Kinnelon, and Jefferson. Our service area currently contains approximately $22 million of available commercial property, of which we are seeing a two-year supply.”

But on the flipside, the residential market tells a different story, according to Williamson.

“In all but two towns (of the office’s service area of expertise), we are in varying degrees of a seller’s market, in residential real estate sales: meaning the absorption rate is under five months’ supply. We are seeing our listings receiving multiple offers, which are resulting in full asking price or higher in some cases. Inventory is low and the still very attractive interest rates are starting to rise, which is driving more buyers into the market at this time,” said Williamson.

“The residential real estate market is ‘hot’!” said Williamson. “Buyers realize that now is the time. Savvy buyers realize the need to offer asking price with a willingness to pay over asking price in areas of a ‘seller’s market.’”

Williamson added, “Although prices are edging up, the price of homes in our area can still be considered discounted. Savvy sellers that could not sell in the downturned market are listing their homes slightly below FMV (Fair Market Value) and reaping the rewards of top dollar and over asking sales prices. These closings are just beginning to drive up appraised values in our market area. Appraised value has been a huge concern over the past seven years; this is improving.”

So what would be a good investment for someone trying to get into the market and trying to make a possible profit?

– See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/realestate/214564271_Residential_real_estate_market_heating_up.html#sthash.YeCBg9KH.dpuf

 

Residential real estate market heating up – NorthJersey.com.

Luxury auctions catching on | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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A 40-acre Temecula, Calif., estate built by the late actor Jack Klugman will be auctioned July 27 using Premiere Estates Auction Co.’s “WorldBid Auction platform.” The company requires only a bidder registration form and a $100,000 cashier’s check to register to bid for the home, originally listed for $12 million.

 

Luxury real estate auctions are taking off, according to blogger Candy Evans, who says auctions  “are a great way, in fact, maybe the only way, to unload big, kinda albatross-y homes, as well as your standard multimillion-dollar fare.” Evans reports that the nation’s third-largest auction house, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, is now conducting luxury real estate auctions. Source: prnewswire.com.

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/luxury-auctions-catching-on/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+inmannews+%28Inman+News+-+Headlines%29#sthash.qMsxT5ED.dpuf

 

 

Luxury auctions catching on | Inman News.

Improving Your Content Marketing | Chappaqua Realtor

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Content marketing is required for success in today’s competitive business world.  No matter which industry you are in, your website visitors want high-quality, information-rich, high-impact and captivatingcontent-marketing-superpowerscontent with deep industry insight.  We are in the midst of the information age; your prospects do a significant amount of research, comparing you to your top competitors.  How can you distinguish your company and win content marketing game?  A top-notch company blog is the foundation for winning content marketing.  If you have committed to content marketing, you may as well dive in, and grant your content marketing some superpowers.

Achieving high rates of social content curation—social sharing—is now vital to SEO and the ranking of search engine results pages (SERPS).  Each time someone shares your content with their network of friends and industry contacts, it gets a stamp of approval—increasing its reach and amplifying your chances for higher rates of traffic and lead generation.  The need to create content, which readers find valuable enough to share, will ultimately improve the quality of online marketing and the Internet as a whole.

There are no shortcuts to producing highly shareable content, which calls for vision, creativity, a deep knowledge base and a sophisticated understanding of your industry.  Consistently creating valuable, relevant and share-worthy content will inevitably improve your search rankings, which are increasingly taking into account the social exposure and influence of content and the authors who create it.  Creating highly shareable content will get others to promote your content for you.  While originality is an important goal of content creation, highly shared content does have some common characteristics.

Highly Shareable Content Defined

1.  It has no typos, spelling or grammatical errors.

2.  It features fresh ideas and innovative best practices.

3.  Highly shareable content is not overly “salesy” and avoids a primary focus on pushing products or services.

4.  It maintains breadth and depth of subject matter.

5.  It has captivating images.

6.  Highly shareable content leverages newsjacking of hot industry-relevant news.

7.  It highlights industry thought leadership.

8. Highly shared titles are actionable, concise, clear, descriptive, authoritative, intriguing and sometimes even a little mysterious.

9.  Highly shearable content includes information-rich and captivating infographics.

10.  It is visually striking and presented in an organized fashion.

5 Ways to Make Your Content More Formidable 

 

1.  Create Easy-to-Process Content

Everyone with an Internet browser is inundated with content on a daily basis.  The best way to keep people reading your content is to structure it so that it can be easily skimmed over.  Paragraphs should have headlines, and main points should be put into numbered lists and bullet points.  People may not want to read every single point you make; this practice allows them to skip some information and search for what they find most intriguing, which increases your chances of high rates of content curation.

 

 

Improving Your Content Marketing | Social Media Today.

Associations vote to dissolve Florida-based Regional MLS | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The board of directors of Jupiter, Fla.-based Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc. has voted to dissolve the 11,000-member MLS following the settlement of a lawsuit filed by one of its shareholder associations.

 

Regional MLS members are now receiving all MLS services directly through their respective associations: the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association of Realtors, and the Realtors Association of St. Lucie.

 

The dissolution of Regional MLS, which was formed in 1987, is expected to be finalized sometime this summer.

 

In April, the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association of Realtors filed a complaint against Regional MLS and its other two shareholder associations, alleging false and deceptive advertising, unfair competition, and interference with business relationships.

 

The origins of the suit lie in a change in billing structure made by Regional MLS’ board around November 2012. Whereas previously Regional MLS had provided the three associations with MLS services directly, the board voted to allow each association to offer MLS services separately, using a common database provided to the associations by Regional MLS, and thereby making the associations competitors for MLS subscribers, the complaint said.

 

Gary Nagle, general counsel for the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound association, declined to elaborate on the complaint, saying it “speaks for itself.”

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/06/28/associations-vote-to-dissolve-florida-based-regional-mls/#sthash.IxUx0Wmt.dpuf

 

Associations vote to dissolve Florida-based Regional MLS | Inman News.

3 Business Reasons to Upgrade to LinkedIn Premium | Katonah Realtor

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While there are a number of different types of paid LinkedIn accounts you can choose from (LinkedIn Premium, For Recruiters, For Job Seekers, For Sales Professionals), LinkedIn Premium is the most balanced paid account type that will generally suit most business owners and professionals.

The LinkedIn Premium account has four different levels of membership that you can choose from depending on your budget and needs:

  • Free
  • Business Plus
  • Executive
  • Pro

Here are three of the benefits that may have you wanting to switch from a free account to a LinkedIn Premium account.

#1: Narrow Your Target With Advanced Search

The left section of the Advanced Search is available to all LinkedIn members and includes several fields such as keywords, location and company. In the right-hand section of the Advanced Search are several Premium fields that are valuable because of their ability to help you greatly narrow down and target your searches.

advanced people search

Both paid and free members can use the Relationship, Groups, Location, Current Company, Industry, Past Company, School and Language fields in the Advanced Search.

While several fields (Industries, Groups, Relationship and Current Company) are available to all members, there are eight fields that are available to the different levels of paying members only (all eight fields are available only to the Executive and Pro Premium level members). Premium Members with the Business or Business Plus level membership have access to the following four fields:

  • Company Size—This can be beneficial; for example, for businesses that target small businesses and freelancers (select the 1-10 option), members looking for very large businesses (select the 10,000+ option) or any size in between.

    limit your search

    You can limit your search by company size.

  • Seniority Level—Narrow your search by seniority levels such as VP, manager, senior, owner and partner.

    search seniority level

    Only search for the seniority level or positions that are useful to you.

  • Interested In—Choose from options such as Industry Experts, Entrepreneurs, Potential Employees or Consultants/Contractors to look for specific groups of people.

    quickly search for people

    Quickly search for people like industry experts and entrepreneurs with the Interested In field.

  • Fortune 1000—Search strictly for employees at Fortune 1000 companies. There are a number of options that allow you to select the Fortune 50, Fortune 501-1000 and several choices in between.

    narrow your search

    Narrow your search to Fortune 1000 companies.

For example, you may want to search for facilitators within your local area whom you may not already be connected with but you share a group with. To do this, you would simply type “facilitator” into the Keyword field, select the country, enter your ZIP code or postal code and select within 50 mi (80 km) and finally select Group Members under Relationship.

multiple search fields

Finding the people in whom you are most interested using multiple search fields.

use advanced search

Search results are more relevant using Advanced Search.

Another example would be if you were looking to connect with the Communications VPs of Fortune 50 companies whom you share a connection or group with. For this search, you would type “communications” into the keyword field, select Location Anywhere and then check 2nd Connections and Group Members from Relationship, VP from Seniority Level and Fortune 50 under the Fortune 1000 section.

meet search requirements

Save time prospecting by searching for LinkedIn members who meet your search requirements.

best search results

Get the best search results using Advanced Search.

Finally, Advanced Search allows you to save your searches. Not only will this feature remember your search, it will also send you weekly or monthly notices of any new member profiles that become a part of your network. You can also scan these new profiles from the Saved Search Tab by clicking on the number under New.

As a free member, you can save three searches, while Premium members have the ability to save up to 7 with the additional bonus of 500 profiles showing up in the search results rather than the standard 100 that comes with free membership.

 

3 Business Reasons to Upgrade to LinkedIn Premium | Social Media Examiner.